I've been trying to follow the threads to learn more about Dr. Gerhart and Reich in Pennsylvania. The threads can become confusing and often deviate from what is stated in the subject line. I am close to a decision to seek treatment from these doctors. I would love to hear from sufferers who have had surgery with them and have experienced relief. They claim that 75% of their patients see improvement after their treatment. Obviously they don't use spraygel, but the lady at their office told me that they don't use laser or cautery because the thermal damages causes more adhesions. Supposedly they cut the adhesions and fill the abdomen with saline which takes a couple days to dissipate. This supposedly lessens adhesion reformation.
This sounds like a strategy that is new for me. All of my other surgeries involved thermal lysis. If this works at least a little better, maybe I can get several years of improvement while experts perfect products like spraygel and they come into use in the United States.
Also, I saw some discussion of payment. I understand that one doctor accepts some insurance while the other doesn't. That doesn't necessarily mean that your insurance will not pay. They pay their "reasonable and customary" amounts directly to you as a reimbursement. This may only be a portion of the doctors fees, but it means that the whole fee will not necessarily be out of pocket. If you have a traditional insurance plan that doesn't require that you use a network, they will most likely pay at least that reasonable amount. I understand that the doctor requires pre-payment because there is no way to know up front what that amount will be. I look at that pre-payment as a worst case scenerio.
There must be a bunch of you out there who have been through this. What was your outcome? How did the insurance thing work out? I would appreciate any input. I'm sure that even the doctors or their staffs monitor this message board, so feel free to e-mail me if you want to talk confidentally.
Thanks.
-- Nancy